FORT RUCKER, Ala. (February 5, 2015) -- The U.S. Army Warrant Officer Career College added to Fort Rucker's reputation for excellence when it was officially named an Institution of Excellence by U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
Col. Garry L. Thompson, WOCC commandant, was presented a certificate by Joe Craig, director of education and training, and quality assurance for warrant officer education, to officially name the college an Institution of Excellence during a ceremony at the WOCC Jan. 30.
"Part of our mission for the Warrant Officer Career College is that we're an executive agent for warrant officer education and training," said Craig as he presented the certificate. "Now, this we get to hang proudly on our wall as an Institution of Excellence."
Every three years, the WOCC goes through an accreditation process that looks at 28 standards, 23 of which were applicable to the career college, and scores the college based on these standards, according to John Yeager, quality assurance for the WOCC.
These standards can include doctrine, organization, training, material, leadership, and education and personnel. Through observation of training, interviews and reviews of submitted documents, evaluators went over each aspect of the WOCC to come to a decision.
During the evaluation, which occurred June 6-10, the WOCC scored between 95-100 on the evaluation, which qualified the college to be named an Institute of Excellence, said Yeager.
"The process was ongoing for many months," said Craig. "Everything we think, do and say as an institution like this is to ensure that we're doing the right thing with the resources that are provided us for the students and the institution itself.
"This is not something you can prepare for two weeks before the process, but there is a lot of movement to the weeks leading up, but something that must be ongoing," he continued. "Throughout anything you do, whether it's a year out, six months or three months, there are gates that you build to ensure that you're meeting those standards."
Yeager was instrumental in helping see that those standards were met, and he was responsible for coordinating and gathering reports for the review by TRADOC. He was recognized with a certificate of appreciation during the ceremony for exceptional meritorious achievement of duty while serving as a quality assurance and faculty of element program lead for the U.S. Warrant Officer Career College during the 2014 TRADOC accreditation.
But, he said, it was no individual effort that allowed the college to reach this level of success.
"This is just a reflection of the great job that the people of this organization are doing and that we continue to do to keep up the standard," he said.
Craig agreed, and said that despite falling just short of the achievement in the past, the WOCC and its members continued to strive for excellence.
"It feels marvelous, and is well deserved for the team and cadre that come in here (to get this recognition)," he said. "We have top-notch cadre in every walk of life here, be it enlisted, officer, or all the way up to our commandant, who touch all these areas of accreditation and standards. We hope to sustain this title because it speaks volumes. To step out with a banner of pride and be able to say that we are an Institution of Excellence goes a long way."
Related Links:
USAACE and Fort Rucker on Twitter
Social Sharing